Headline in the Steamboat Pilot May 22, 1947: RANGELY OFFICER WANTS LARGE SUM FOR ALLEGED LIBEL. Town Marshal John Howlett alleged in the complaint that an article published in the Rangely News was libelous and “brought great shame, humiliation and mortification to the plaintiff.” The article in question was published in the News and concerned the alleged theft of the marshal’s car, a street lamp in front of the Marshall’s home and a horse which was being kept in his paddock. The story dwelt on the fact that the marshal had not apprehended the culprit. Walter Anderson of Rangely, acting as attorney, brought suit in the amount of $50,000 against Lenore Kyner, editor of the Rangely Publishing Co.; Ralph Carr (former Colorado Governor and a Denver attorney); and Mrs. Irena Ingham, a sister of Mrs. Kyner, and also a Denver attorney.
This story struck me as funny. Newspapers are always being accused of exaggeration. What was funny to me is the fact that the Marshall and his attorney did not actually deny that the theft of the car, horse and a street lamp were missing. I could not find the conclusion of the court case, but I am betting that John did not get his $50,000. I did find it odd that someone who was concerned about his personal “shame and humiliation, and mortification,” would bring a public lawsuit which would broadcast his actions to the whole of Northwest Colorado. Sueing two prominent attorneys is never a good idea, even in this day and age.
The other thing that interested me was that two sisters born at the turn of the 20th century grew up to be a newspaper editor and an attorney. Even in the 1950s women had limited career choices: housewife, secretary, teacher, clerk, bookkeeper, hotel workers and waitresses. Women with college degrees were not common. Management level jobs were unheard of. These two women intrigued me. How did they get to Rio Blanco County and what happened to them? After digging through the newspaper archives for several decades, a glimpse of their personal history was revealed. The Aspen Times on July 18, 1947, reported that Lenore Kyner and her sister Irena S. Ingham had bought the Rangely News from E.H. Weston who had in 1945, established the paper in the “sensational Rangely Oil field of Rio Blanco County.” Mrs. Ingham was a Denver attorney and the first woman to be named a [Colorado] district judge. The sisters at one time edited and managed the Cripple Creek Times-Record. Both had wide experience in the editing and publishing field.
A deeper dive into history found that both sisters were born in Cripple Creek in 1898 (Irena Sweet) and 1900 (Emily Lenore Sweet) to Harry and Minnie Sweet. In 1924, Lenore married William Kyner who was the younger brother to George Kyner, editor of the Cripple Creek Times during one the most contentious labor battles in Colorado. Cripple Creek was the epicenter of a miner’s strike and lock out in 1903. Powerful mine owners demanded and got Governor Peabody to call out the state militia who marched into Cripple Creek and declared martial law. Editor Kyner and several of his newspaper employees were arrested and told not to publish anything against Gov. Peabody and his actions. At the time, the Cripple Creek Times was decidedly pro-labor. Much later, William Kyner was listed as an employee of the paper, and managed the paper after his brother’s death. I would say that the whole family had ink in their veins. Lenore Kyner went on to become secretary-treasurer of the Rangely Chamber of Commerce. She moved to Meeker and in 1952 took the job as executive secretary of the Meeker Chamber of Commerce (Commercial Club). She also partnered with her friend Mrs. Edna Colescott in real estate. Her daughter, Gloria Kyner, married into the Pollard family of Meeker. In 1966, Lenore became part of the Wilderness Transit Co. proposing an express bus line connecting Rawlins, Baggs, Grand Junction, Craig, Meeker and Vernal. Lenore died in 1978 and her sister, Irena Sweet Ingham McGarry, 1989. Both are buried in Highland Cemetery, Meeker.
By ED PECK
